invisible enemies. So we might think that in such societies magical rit-
uals, prescriptions and precautions are essentially comforting devices,
giving people some imaginary control over these processes. However,
in other places people have no such rituals and feel no such threats to
their existence. From the anthropologist's viewpoint it seems plausible
that the rituals create the need they are supposed to fulfil, and proba-
ble that each reinforces the other.
Also, religious concepts, if they are solutions to particular emo-
tional needs, are not doing a very good job. A religious world is often
every bit as terrifying as a world without supernatural presence, and
[20] many religions create not so much reassurance as a thick pall of
gloom. The Christian philosopher Kierkegaard wrote books with
titles like The Concept of Anguish andFear and Trembling, which for
him described the true psychological tenor of the Christian revela-
tion. Also, consider the widespread beliefs about witches, ghouls,
ghosts and evil spirits allegedly responsible for illness and misfor-
tune. For the Fang people with whom I worked in Cameroon the
world is full of witches, that is, nasty individuals whose mysterious
powers allow them to "eat" other people, which in most cases means
depriving them of health or good fortune. Fang people also have
concepts of anti-witchcraft powers. Some are said to be good at
detecting and counteracting the witches' ploys, and one can take
protective measures against witches; all such efforts, however, are
pitiful in the face of the witches' powers. Most Fang admit that the
balance of powers is tipped the wrong way. Indeed, they see evidence
of this all the time, in crops that fail, cars that crash and people who
die unexpectedly. If religion allays anxiety, it cures only a small part
of the disease it creates.
Reassuring religion, insofar as it exists, is not found in places where
life is significantly dangerous or unpleasant; quite the opposite. One of
the few religious systems obviously designed to provide a comforting
worldview is New Age mysticism. It says that people, allpeople, have
enormous "power," that all sorts of intellectual and physical feats are
within their reach. It claims that we are all connected to mysterious
but basically benevolent forces in the universe. Good health can be
secured by inner spiritual strength. Human nature is fundamentally
good. Most of us lived very interesting lives before this one. Note that
these reassuring, ego-boosting notions appeared and spread in one of
the most secure and affluent societies in history. People who hold
these beliefs are not faced with war, famine, infant mortality, incurable
RELIGION EXPLAINED